Vigilius sector
Lying deep far on the edge of the Ultima Segmentum, near to the warp storm known to the Imperium as the Volhar Rift, the Vigilius sector has stood as a beacon of the might of the Imperium since the days of the Great Crusade. Vigilius sector was long known for its relative stability and wealth. Its mighty factories supplied the armies of the Ultima Segmentum far and wide and the Titan Legions and Guard regiments were honored and respected across the segmentum. However, as the Time of Ending began, this was all to change. Upstart Tau reached on its outskirts, Ork Waaagh!s rampaged across it and the whispers of the Ruinous Powers reached the sector. Now the sector is left in the ruins of its former glory, unable to answer the threats from without or within. History Pre-Imperial Before the birth of the Imperium, man had come to the Vigilius sector during their Golden Age of Technology. Many planets were settled by human colonists, finding the area largely without any other sentient life. In M23 the Cybernetic Revolt swept through the human worlds. Worlds within Vigilius sector too were largely wrecked by the revolting Men of Iron. Many of these planets were left entirely underpopulated until the coming of the Imperium almost ten millennia later. During the Age of Strife, the newly formed Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars would send out many exploratory fleets into the galaxy to spread their religion and recover mankind's lost technology. Some of these would reach the Vigilius sector, finding planets that would eventually become mighty forge worlds. Coming of the Imperium In the year 994.M30, 631st and 1422nd Imperial Expeditionary would reach the Vigilius sector, finding many planets fit for human colonization, as well as some that already had human Inhabitants. Selecting Turbela as sector capital due to its centrality, it took over a decade to find and bring all possible planets into the Imperium by which time the Expeditionary fleets had moved on. Many of the planets under Imperial rule were settled during this time such as the forge world Ivaldi Primus. In 006.M31 the Dropsite Massacre would signal the beginning of the Horus Heresy which would shake the Imperium to its core. Due to the remoteness of Vigilius on the Eastern Fringe the news of the rebellion tearing the Imperium apart did not make it there until 008.M31. Due to the confused nature of the news, it was almost impossible to make out what was going on, or who was loyal to whom so the Imperial planets in Vigilius took the only course of action they could think of and began to prepare for attack. Forge worlds went into overdrive producing weapons, armor and vehicles for regiments of soldiers raised on the other worlds, stockpiling for when the Heresy inevitably reached them. But it never did. Long before the Heresy ever spread to Vigilius, in 014.M31 the Battle of Terra unfolded, changing the Imperium forever. With the death of the Warmaster Horus and the ascension of the Emperor to the Golden Throne the Heresy ended and most of the traitor forces were forced to flee to the Eye of Terror in the wake of the Great Scouring. When Imperial forces arrived in Vigilius they found it both well armed and still loyal to the Imperium. Before they move on, the events of the Heresy are recorded on Turbela and orders are raised to begin raising regiments for the newly formed Astra Militarum. Post Heresy Officially Vigilius sector was formed in the early days of the Horus Heresy but due the chaos and turmoil within the Imperium it was not recognised by Terra before the end of the Heresy. After the recognition of Terra the most important areas were also divided into seven sub-sectors of which five remain today. Foundation for the High Senate of Vigilius (hg. Senatorum Vigilius) were made after the end of the Heresy and it formed into a small and efficient cabinet of seven individuals. It has since bloated into a massive bureaucratic labyrinth it is today. Far from the dangers of the galaxy, Vigilius sector proved itself as an important supply of manpower, weapons and munitions for the Imperium and the regiments of Vigilius have fought across the galaxy for millennia. Volharian Tech-heresy Birth of the Volhar Rift warpstorm saw the Nereides sub-sector completely devastated. Some of the worlds were lost and have never been heard since while number of worlds in close proximity to the warp storm have since seceded from the Imperium. It also cut the Vigilius sector of its most direct warp route to Ultramar. Nereides sub-sector's worlds were assigned into other existing sub-sectors as Nereides ceased to exist. Waaagh! Morkdred In late M40, an Ork Warboss Morkdred triumphs over the tribes in the spore worlds north of Vigilius and masses a Waaagh! which finally leads to the devastation of the northern parts of the sector. Ork invasion is countered on Magna Cupal by joint forces of Magna Cupal and Ivaldi Primus. Ixos Secession Ambitions of the Tau Empire drove it further north during its Second Sphere of Expansion. Contingent led by Commander O'Ghoro found the Au'rah Sept in 692.M41 after making contact with the Imperium further north. Mahapadma Secession The icy Death World Mahapadma renounces their loyalties to the Imperium in 750.M41, though this only revealed two years later. Waaagh! Dredblasta In 766.M41 a Ork Waaagh led by a Warboss known as Dredblasta arrives into the sector, briefly clashing with the Tau before moving deeper into the sector. Eventually the Waagh came into contact with the portion of the Sector battlefleet guarding the Volhar rift. After several days of battle, Mechanicus reinforcements from Ivaldi Primus arrive and the Imperial forces are victorious, though the Warboss escaped to the Spore worlds north of Vigilius. Hive Fleet Tarasc Invading the sector from galactic east beyond the Eastern Fringe, hive fleet Tarasc advances unnoticed on the Lebennia system. In 916.M41 the Imperium mounts a counter attack against the alien menace. Astral Phenomena Volhar Dredgeworlds The Volhar Dredgeworlds is the official designation that both the Vigilius Departmento Astrocartographae and Battlefleet Vigilius have saddled upon the daemon worlds sporadically spat out by the Volhar Rift; remnants of the once populous sub-sector twisted beyond all recognition. As the Rift waxes and wanes, perpetuated by the nightmare engines of the fallen forgeworld that bore it, new horrors emerge from its depths to test the defences of the Volhar Perimeter - some for a few days, others for years on end - before being swallowed up once again. Volhar Rift Volhar Rift is located in the south-western part of Vigilius sector in the area that was previously Nereides sub-sector. Deep in its heart is located the corrupted forge world of Volhar itself, fueling the warp storm with the nightmare engine built within its core. Its birth sundered the main warp route southwards to Ichar IV, Ultramar and Salem as well as the route westwards to Charadon and Nephilim sectors. Birth of Volhar Rift also effectively destroyed the sub-sector and those Imperial worlds that survived within the "Volhar Perimeter" were turned into fortress worlds in case of an invasion from within the warp storm. Worlds Imperial worlds *'Turbela' - Imperial sector capital and a hive world. While the hive cities of Turbela produce an impressive amount of manpower needed to keep the sector running, of greater importance (in the eyes of the Mechanicus) are the ancient storehouse dotting the landscape that date back to the Dark Age of Technology. Made sector capital mostly for its central location. *'Aclosos' - a world located in Drucox Superia subsector *'Cerbera' - a fortress world built after the Scouring. Original plans had Cerbera act as a launching pad for a crusade eastwards but as the light of Astronomican has waned, no such endeavour have been called for. *'Creid Lambda' - installed in the asteroid field of a long destroyed planetoid, thirteen Mechanicus installations form what is commonly referred to as Creid Lambda. Baptized after the magos originally responsible for enabling the exploitation of the asteroid's resources, the 11th of these bases has become the largest and most significant and thus, seat of the government. Creid Lambda is mainly responsible for ship construction and gigantic docks have been built to repair or construct space ships. *'Drucox' - the capitol of Drucox Superia subsector *'Erika's Retreat' - an arid frontier world. Was settled by the efforts of rogue trader Erika Stormruler in late-M36. *'Hos Calwor' - a world located in Arteside-Vigile subsector *'Ivaldi Primus' - a forge world in the same subsector as Turbela and one of the three major forge worlds in the Vigilius sector. Home to the Titan legion Ardens Aestus which is well known for its particularly violent titans and scorched earth tactics meaning they are rarely deployed on worlds that are not completely overrun by the enemies of the Imperium. *'Josux system' - a navy depot and promethium refinery site. Josux 6 is a gas giant which is the foremost extraction site, while naval docks, garrisons and defences are scattered on its twelve moons. *'Lazara' - a world located in Turbela-Ivaldi subsector in a node of major warp lanes. *'Lebennia II' - a tropical cardinal world known of its authentic, high quality paper made on world. Houses Schola Progenium Lebennia, which is one of the largest scholas in the sector. It is also secretly home to the Lebennia Coterie, the Sector's foremost criminal organization. *'Lova system' - located in the node of warp lanes to Turbela, northwards and corewards. Lova system is the jewel of Vigilius, found before the Age of Imperium, the whole system is part of one, unified industrial infrastructure. *'Magna Cupal' - a forge world located in the north-eastern part of the sector. Magna Cupal is a fortress where tower is built upon a tower and gun atop a gun. It was the defences of Magna Cupal that finally countered the Waaagh! Morkdred's advance southwards in late-M40. *'Novoss' - a civilised world. Known of raising Novossian Rifles infantry regiments. *'Rhahaz' - an industrial world connecting Vigilius to the sectors westwards. *'Saint Antias' Hope' - a shrine world. Originally known as Hos Elwor, name was changed after canonisation of Saint Antios. *'Sareen Cardinal' - a cardinal world. *'Tantalonia' - an agri world. Known of raising Tantalonian Assault Troops regiments. *'Truman's World' - a civilised world. Mostly devastated by Waaagh! Morkdred in late-M40, this archipelago world was rebuilt in mid M41. *'Verelax' - the capitol of Arteside-Vigile sub-sector. *'Zaltor's Sanctum' - closest Imperial world to Volhar Rift. Constant strife and chaos has marked its history since the birth of Volhar Rift and sector governance has readied to establish a military rule on world if an attempt of secession is to happen. Tau worlds *'Au'rah' - Tau sept world. Found during the Second Sphere of Expansion, Au'rah is the hub of Tau influence within the Vigilius sector. *'Is'soo'- Originally an imperial mining world named Mahapadma, the star of Is'soo has been extinguished at some point during the Old Night and even after its reintegration into the Imperium, it had been neglected. With the encroaching Tyranid forces, Mahapadma had been left to fend for itself, eventually giving in to the proposition of Tau envoys to exchange loyalty for protection. Currently, Is'soo is a Tau beachhead, with mining operations being steadily increased and its military growing in strength. *'Rhia'lien'- A former Imperial death world known for it's harsh deserts, Rhian, as it was originally known, was occupied by the Imperium for it's rich ore veins. When the mines began to run dry in M39, Imperial interest waned and the Imperial military forces began to pull out. In 776.M39, a blood crusade of Khorne attacked the planet being made up of a World Eaters warband. With little Imperial military forces left, the Chaos space marines ran rampant in their slaughter until the Astartes of the Ashen Thanes chapter arrived and forced them off world. With most of the Imperial forces dead and no more ore to remove the Imperium abandoned the planet and what survivors remained. When the Tau arrived they had little problem claiming the planet, the human inhabitants eager for any help or allies. Other *'Nereides' - former capitol of Nereides sub-sector, this world disappeared into the Volhar Rift in 700.M39 and is considered to have been transformed into Scylla, one of the Volhar Dredgeworlds. *'Volhar' - corrupted forge world which lies within the heart of Volhar Rift warp storm. Government Senatorum Vigilius The traditional office of the sector governor does not exist within Vigilius. Instead, members of all the Imperial organizations within Vigilius form the Senatorum Vigilius, or High Senate of Vigilius. Overseen by the high magistrate, the senate is the chief executive organ within the sector. Sector Synod Adeptus Ministorum, or Ecclesiarchy, has established a sector synod within Vigilius since its founding. Ecclesiarchy's declension before the M36 and Vandire Goge's Reign of Blood saw it to have very little influence but after the ascension of Sebastian Thor, sector synod began to receive more attention in Vigilius. This made Senatorum Vigilius to accept the High Cardinal of Astra of Vigilius within its Upper Chamber. Currently the Ecclesiarchy within Vigilius influences the politics of the sector via high cardinal astra who has usually been the arch cardinal of shrine world Saint Antias' Hope. Before the ascension of Saint Antias, title was solely held by the cardinal of the cardinal world of Sareen Cardinal. Vigilius Conclave The loosely formed organisation saw its reformation after the birth of the Volhar Rift by a strong-willed and goal-orientated inquisitor, Lord Zaltor Prewalch. Lord Prewalch directed the Senatorum Vigilius over the catastrophy with his charisma and powerful determination to form a defense against the rift and the hereteks within. In the end, Lord Prewalch's dream was only partially fulfilled but his work had laid the foundations for the Vigilius Conclave that emerged fully after his death. Military As the Time of Ending has come, Imperium is besieged from all sides and so have its citizens readied themselves. Vigilius has strong militaristic culture deriving itself all the way from the days of the Heresy and even if events like Tau expansions, invasion of Tyranid hive fleets and rampaging Ork Waaagh!s have greatly depleted Vigilius' manpower, it still stands fiercely resistant against the enemies of man. Imperium Adepta Sororitas Sisters of Battle and their non-militant brethren form important segment of the Imperium and have significant presence on the older worlds on Vigilius sector. *'Order of the First Martyr' - Order Militant based on Tantalonia and named after Primarch Sanguinius. *'Order of the Iron Aria' - Order Madriga based on Saint Antias' Hope its patron saint is Saint Antias. *'Order of the Bloodied Thorn'- Order Militant based on Lebennia II and named for their Patron Saint's relic. Adeptus Mechanicus Red Priesthood has established a strong presence within Vigilius which is guaranteed by three forge worlds within the sector's borders. Skitarii and Titan legions stand ready to answer the call for war. *'Legio Ardens Aestus' - Titan legion of Ivaldi Primus *'Legio Inferna Viridi' - Titan legion of Magna Cupal Astra Militarum Wide range of Imperial worlds creates a solid base for recruitment of variety of Imperial Guard regiments. Vigilius sector raises all kinds of regiments from auxiliary abhuman companies to armored divisions. Departmento Munitorum also raises its special Frogmen Corps from Truman's World. *'Cerbera Heavy Infantry' *'Novossian Rifles' - infantry regiment *'Tantalonian Assault Troops' - divided into mechanised infantry and armored regiments *'Turbelian Crusaders' - divided into siege and line infantry regiments. Imperial Navy The Vigilius sector has always had a powerful Battlefleet ever since it joined the Imperium. Due to the relatively peaceful nature of the Vigilius sector, many of the vessels of Battlefleet Vigilius have seen more action outside of the sector in aid of other Imperial forces in Segmentum Ultima. Recent activity threatens to change this however, especially with the arrival of the Tyranid hive fleets. Tau Gue'cea'cha Roughly translating to 'Humans serving the Greater Good', these formations are made up of Water Caste backed demagogues and spies. Essentially special operatives, they move among imperial citizens and both subtly advertise the Greater Good and gather all sorts of information about the situation in imperial space. Open combat is rare, though acts of sabotage are often attributed to them, even if only in the circles of command where their existence is acknowledged. Other Notes See also *Timeline of the Vigilius Sector *Vigilius sector/Addendum References Category:Ultima Segmentum Category:Sectors Category:Vigilius sector Category:Community Project